


Sunset

by Miranthia



Series: 30 Day Prompt Challenge [22]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, F/F, Tempauthrien
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-16 22:55:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13063890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miranthia/pseuds/Miranthia
Summary: "Sunsets are proof that no matter what happens, every day can end beautifully." --Kristen Butler





	Sunset

The rumors had been true; the Grey Wardens were there, in Lothering. Cauthrien had kept a sharp eye out for them, so she would know where to avoid being to prevent any confrontations. At first she didn’t believe it; her heart was heavy with grief, a sense of hopelessness overwhelming it instead. When her shaken soldiers returned with the Warden’s message to Loghain however, she could think of nothing else.

Temperance was alive.

She told her unit to go back to Denerim; that she would follow along after she had garnered information about the would-be murderers. The soldiers did not question their Lieutenant and went on, Cauthrien ever hopeful that Loghain would not question her motives. She was fairly certain he would have approved of the notion; having a close eye on the enemy was never a bad thing. Even if Cauthrien’s intentions were far from that.

She _had_ to see Temperance. She needed to see for herself, rumor and word-of-mouth was not enough evidence for her. The only thing that that resulted in was her heart to ache and her mind to reel even more than it already was. She was so confused and unsure of herself. She wasn’t sure of anything. The battle at Ostagar left her questioning herself, and her General. She shook her head and sighed, resolving to focus on one thing, and one thing only; Temperance. She was the only thing that mattered right now.

 

Through persuasion and sincerity, Cauthrien learned that the group was heading towards Redcliffe by way of the Imperial Highway. She was allowed a small space in the Chantry, which amounted to a relatively hidden spot in an unoccupied corner, but she was grateful nevertheless. It contained enough room for her to stow her gear and possibly lay down, but she was not worried about that. It was nearing sunset as it was, and if she wanted to catch Temperance before nightfall she would have to leave now; they had an hour head start on her.

With nothing more than a dagger shoved into her boot she took off, leaving her loud, clunky armor at the Chantry in favor of a simple tunic and pants. She could move swifter and more silently that way, and not draw too much attention to herself. As she climbed the stairs to the bridge, she noticed that the two dwarves that had been there previously were no longer to be seen. She frowned curiously, but did not dwell on in much; many of the townsfolk were leaving in an effort to escape what was to come. Cauthrien sighed and closed her eyes, hoping beyond hope she would be able to find the Wardens. She was no tracker by any means, but she was determined to find them. Without another hesitation she took off up the Imperial Highway, the sun beginning its slow decline towards the horizon.

-o-

Just after nightfall Temperance had called a halt to the group, deciding it was time for them to make camp for the evening. She and Alistair found a spot in a stand of trees off of the path, the clearing they had agreed on fairly secluded from prying eyes. It would do for the night.

Crude tents were put up, a campfire blazing merrily away in the center of it all. Temperance had gone off to hunt, Sten surprisingly following along. Morrigan begrudgingly agreed to prepare the rabbits that had been presented to her, the rest of them pulling odds and ends out of their packs. Leliana sat on a log, chattering away endlessly to whoever would listen, Alistair chiming in eventually. Temperance allowed herself to smile slightly as she watched the exchanges, Morrigan and Alistair bickering about something while Leliana laughed. Only Sten remained stoic, watching everything quietly. Even the two dwarves, Bodahn and Sandal, chimed in; they had shown up to the camp soon after everyone had settled, and Temperance had allowed them to stay. All in all, considering everything that had coursed over the span of a few days, it was quite pleasant.

As the fire began to die down, eyes began to droop slowly, the food and the exhaustion finally taking its toll. The conversation had died down to a comfortable silence, the majority of the group having changed into comfier attire, adding to the setting. Sparrow sprawled out next to his mistress, his head resting in her lap as she rubbed his side lovingly. Sleep did not come easy to her, so she allowed her companions to doze off, volunteering herself to take first watch.

A slight rustle in the bushes off to the right of the party caused Sparrow’s head to perk up, Temperance’s eyes snapping in the same direction. Twigs snapping caused the mabari to spring to his feet, but no growl emitted from his throat. Instead, his entire backside started to wiggle, Temperance moving to get to her feet as well. Movement from her left caused her to shake her head and hold out a hand, stopping Alistair from rising too. “Don’t. If there was a threat, Sparrow would have already done something.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Well, if we’re all dead right now then the Fade looks a lot like our camp.”

“Hmmm I wonder if there’s cheese here….”

Temperance snorted lightly and was about to respond, but before she could a figure emerged from the trees and Sparrow bounded towards it, woofing happily. The figure was too dark and too far away to make out, but somehow Temperance already knew who it was.

She got to her feet and slowly walked towards the pair, Sparrow bouncing towards her as Cauthrien pulled herself back up and walked forward unsteadily. Temperance reached the other woman before she stumbled, catching her in her arms. Cauthrien wrapped her shaking ones around Temperance and held on to her tightly, a sob of relief forcing its way out of her chest. “You’re alive. Thank the Maker. I thought…..I was afraid….”

“Shh, it’s alright.” Temperance held on to her tightly, slowly walking them backwards until the light from the fire engulfed them. She felt a hand on her back and allowed it to guide them to the log, Alistair sitting the two down as Morrigan rekindled the dying flames and Leliana fetched a drink for the newcomer. Temperance gently eased out of the woman’s tight embrace and studied her in the light, an eyebrow lifting and a faint smile curling her lips. “What happened to you?” She had several small scratches on her face and hands, her hair was falling out of its tight ponytail, and was full of leaves and twigs.

Cauthrien grinned sheepishly, pulling her hair out of its messy bind, allowing the dark brown locks to cascade over her shoulders. “Nature, I think.”

Temperance allowed herself to smile, willing unshed tears to not fall. She occupied her mind by picking twigs and leaves out of the brunette’s hair, ignoring the man that was glaring at her. She had been afraid that Cauthrien was dead, too. She was aware of the fact that Cauthrien had been in the front-lines down in the valley with Loghain, that they had pulled out, but she had not allowed hope to stir in her. For all she knew, Cauthrien was amid the carnage and chaos at Ostagar. Holding on to that thought was easier than wondering if she was alive, somewhere.

She ran her fingers through the dark brown tresses, now void of ‘nature’, and softly rest her hand against her cheek. Her thumb gently stroked the soft skin, their foreheads coming to rest against one another. Cauthrien’s breath hitched in her throat, her own hand closing over Temperance’s. The moment came crashing down on them with the sound of an angry throat-clearing.

Alistair had studied the newcomer closely, a muscle in his jaw slowly starting to tick at the realization of who she was. His eyes narrowed dangerously and his brow furrowed in anger as he watched the exchange between the two. “Ser Cauthrien.” he spat out.

She sighed and hung her head slightly, her eyes fixated on the log underneath her. “Yes.” she knew it was risky coming here, but hadn’t quite thought about that on her journey, Temperance the only thing on her mind.

Alistair snarled and got to his feet, all eyes jumping to him, his hands balled into tight fists. “You. _You_. You were there. You were the one…. You could have stopped it. You were there with him! Yo-“

He stopped, rage momentarily forgotten as Temperance stood between them, Sparrow snarling at her side. He had never seen the hound so mad, let alone his mistress. “If you touch her I swear Alistair, it will be the last thing you ever do. One finger, just one, and I will rip your arms off and beat you with them.”

“But that is too enticing of a mental image, t’would be most entertaining. Do it Alistair, I dare you.”

Alistair shot Morrigan a glance, but visibly calmed down after that. Though inside, he was still screaming for blood. He resumed his seat on the log, sighing heavily. He had every right to strike Cauthrien down right there, regardless of the consequences. But no matter how much he wanted to, he decided to trust Temperance on this and maintained a reluctant silence.

Cauthrien got up and turned to leave, shaking her head as Temperance held on to her arm. “No he’s right, he really is. I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t have…..but I am a soldier, true and loyal to my General. But he….I don’t…..I just needed to see you again. I’m-“ 

Temperance pulled the woman back to her and cut her off effectively, her lips claiming Cauthrien’s. The encounter was short, the brunette whimpering in protest as the younger woman pulled away. Temperance searched her eyes with her own, taking her face in both of her hands. “It is not up for discussion, alright? We are not going to talk about it. And we won’t for as long as this lasts, yeah? You have your duty, and we have ours. But whenever we are together, duty does not exist. It will be just us. All right?”

Cauthrien nodded her head, not trusting herself to speak. Temperance kissed her softly and turned her attention to her watching companions, her cheeks flushing slightly. “That goes for everyone.”

They all nodded their heads, Bodahn offering to take watch with Sandal. There was a scattering of good-nights amid giggles, Temperance choosing to ignore it all as she led Cauthrien to her tent, Sparrow lying outside of the door as the flap closed.

Cauthrien reclaimed Temperance’s lips as soon as the blonde had released her hand, the two stumbling to the blankets underneath their feet. They both giggled slightly, the brunette rolling them over so her body lay comfortably on Temperance’s. She stroked her face softly, her thumb brushing her bottom lip as she slowly pressed her lips to the blondes again, their soft kiss soon turning to one of passion and desperation.

Cauthrien broke away from Temp’s swollen lips to trail her own along her jawline, Temperance’s neck arching slightly as she slowly kissed down it, breathy gasps reaching her ears. As she kissed across her collarbone her fingers worked at the tie on her tunic, pulling the garment off to the left. Cauthrien rest her hand over Temperance’s left breast, feeling the beating heart beneath her palm. She closed her eyes, bending to kiss the spot before pressing her ear to the soft skin, listening intently, as if to reassure herself that the woman underneath her was indeed alive and breathing.

Temperance took one of Cauthrien’s hands in her own, the other stroking her cheek before hooking under her chin. Cauthrien was eye level with her once more, the brunette resting on her forearms. Temperance ran her fingers through her hair and gently stroked the side of her face, her blue-green eyes searching bright hazel ones. “I am here Cauth, I promise. I’m not going anywhere.”

She swallowed softly, a small tear breaking free as she furrowed her brow. Her fingers toyed with the chain on Temperance’s neck, the ring visible now that the woman’s top was undone. She looked back up at Temperance as the tear was swiped away with her thumb, lips once again claimed.

Temperance rolled them over, pinning Cauthrien’s hands above her head with her own. Gripping them both with one hand, Temperance used the other to hitch Cauthrien’s shirt up, her fingers ghosting over soft skin. “I am here.” she repeated softly, her eyes locked onto the hazel orbs beneath her.

Cauthrien arched up into her, a smile spreading across her face slowly. “I know.”

She wouldn’t leave until the next morning, after several setbacks and distractions. They weren’t sure how they were going to meet from then on out, but they vowed to figure something out.

And they did. As many times as they could.


End file.
